WEST Somerset’s MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has praised the work of a charity which aims to help arthritis sufferers access aids and adaptations to enable them to stay living at home.

He was among the MPs who attended an awareness event hosted by Versus Arthritis, which says 43 per cent of people with the condition have struggled for more than two years before finding out about equipment for which they were eligible.

On the other side of the coin, 94 per cent of those who have benefited from aids and adaptations say their quality of life has improved as a result.

Versus Arthritis is now striving to highlight the fact that local authorities have a legal duty to provide such improvements free of charge to all those who are eligible: currently around a third of all sufferers say they have held back from asking for help because they believed they would have to pay.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said even basic adaptations and equipment such as electric tin openers, grab rails and stair lifts could make a huge difference to the 17 million Britons who suffer from arthritis and related conditions, as well as allowing them to remain living independently in their homes for longer.

“There are more than 6,347 people in Bridgwater and West Somerset living with osteoarthritis of the hip, 10,653 with osteoarthritis of the knee and 20,980 with back pain,” he said.

“Many more are affected by other related conditions. I was only too pleased to support a campaign which aims to show them what free help is available to so many of them for alleviating some of the pain, discomfort and inconvenience they experience on a daily basis.”